Blog
Do you know someone whose house has flooded?
Almost everyone has either had a flood or knows someone who has. Did you know that sewage backups are not covered by most homeowners’ insurance policies? Or if they are, coverage may be limited to a few thousand dollars. That’s because sewage backups are considered “external” rather than “Internal” events – like a flood due […]
Home Inspections Can Save Home Buyers A Lot of Money
The fastest return on your real estate investment… It is often said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is particularly true when buying a house. Even though most houses in California are sold “as-is”, we feel that a buyer still deserves to know what condition the house is in, […]
Avoid a Flood in Your House
High water pressure can cause flooding During a home inspection, one of the very important items we check is the water pressure inside your home. San Diego has very high water pressure in many neighborhoods. The pressure is reduced into your home with the use of a pressure regulator which usually looks like the device […]
The Coming AC Wars
As if negotiating real estate transactions isn’t tough enough, there is a huge issue that is right around the corner. Older AC units will be obsolete in 2020. Houses built as recently as the late 1990’s are likely to have AC systems that use FREON, a refrigerant commercially called R-22. FREON was classified as an environmental […]
Philip Smith, Certified Inspector NACHI, CREIA, IAC2
Philip Smith is a home inspector with certifications from InterNACHI, CREIA, and IAC2. Having a passion for inspecting homes, I joined The Real Estate Inspection Company after owning and operating an inspection business for 15 years. I have been a Certified Home Inspector since 2004 and have inspected well over 4,000 properties in San Diego, […]
Pool Safety Requirements
Sadly, the second largest cause of death in California is drowning. In 1996, California introduced the Pool Safety Act. This Bill required several safety measures to help prevent accidental drownings. It has been revised several times, and in it’s most recent revision requires at least two of seven safety devices. Also in 2018, it became […]
Buyer and Agent Survey
Buyers and Agents Differ on What Inspections are Important We recently conducted a survey among home buyers and real estate agents who have hired us for home inspections in the last 6 months. Below are the results of the survey. The goal was to find out what additional services, beyond general home inspections and drain […]
Were There Pets in That House?
Are you allergic to pets? What about your clients? It may be difficult to tell if pets were living in a house. There may be no odor and the house is spotless. However, dander (dead skin) can be present in the carpet, curtains, ducts, and under appliances, if pets were ever living in a house […]
How Septic Systems Work
Thousands of houses throughout Southern California have septic systems. These include rural houses or those on large properties. Hooking these houses up to a municipal sewer system may be cost prohibitive, so a septic system is a perfect alternative. Septic systems are underground wastewater treatment structures, commonly used in rural areas without centralized sewer systems. […]
Dryer Flues Are a Major Source of House Fires
There are so many items in a house that require regular maintenance. As homeowners, we often ignore maintenance on items that are working properly. Why spend money on a problem that doesn’t exist? If your garage door opener is working, why would you have it tuned up? Just like your car regular scheduled maintenance is […]
